I Am From Sugar Flowers (Where Are You From?)

Sugar flowers, bouganvillas, Post-it notes… what’s that got to do with a legacy poem? Quite a lot.

Many years ago, I came upon this wonderful create-your-own-legacy-poem. The poem’s structure was given, and you’d fill in the blanks with your own answer. The poem’s universal title is “Where I’m From.” You can find it at Fragments From Floyd.

Where I’m From: Sugar Flowers

Here’s a sample of how you can write your own version of the poem:

I am from _______ (specific ordinary item), from _______ (product name) and _______.
I am from the _______ (home description… adjective, adjective, sensory detail).

I am from sugar flowers on birthday cakes…

This is a reflection post slash birthday post. As I turn 36 today, this makes for an insightful exercise as well. Here’s my version of “Where I’m From.” I hope you could post yours in the comments!

WHERE I’M FROM

I am from sugar flowers on birthday cakes, Tasty Bread and Care Bears.

I am from the duplex home with the rusty orange gate painted green, the sloping concrete driveway that led to a strange, wild forest of a backyard.

I am from the pink bouganvillas growing, flowing against the neighbor’s rock wall, the pink and yellow santan flowers whose nectar you could sip on breezy afternoons while the neighborhood kids played outside.

I am from spend-Sundays-with-the-family and reserved bookishness, from Josephine and Mar and Jose.

I am from the talking through Post-its notes and the giggles and gabbing while gathered ‘round deep-fried bananas.

From drink-your-medicine-or-stand-in-the-corner and don’t-waste-your-talent-because-it’s-God’s-gift.

I am from candle-lit altars, giant wooden rosary beads, velvet knee pads wrapped in torn plastic, prayer books dusty with time, my Grandfather leading the prayers.

I’m from a city hospital now dilapidated, from fried garlic rice with tuyo, ice buko candy bought from the store three houses down.

From the will-this-santol-bounce-on-my-sister’s-head, the more than five cousins searching for a single 25-centavo coin in a child’s inflatable pool, and sliding down the stairs on a bamboo-printed mattress with my sisters.

I am from spring-bound albums with faded pictures, tall book cases housing memories of school recitals and family trips, walls of picture frames from the single-digit ages, trinkets and bells and elephant figurines that say you are home, you are here, you are home.

Write your own version! You can get the template from here: http://www.fragmentsfromfloyd.com/fragments/2003/11/where_are_you_from.html.

Hi! I'm Toni Tiu, and I've been blogging at at Wifely Steps since 2003. This started as a blog to help newly weds adjust to married life. It has evolved into a home and parenting blog. I write about things close to my heart -- good eats, good reads, family, marriage, and the little things that make everyday happy.